Nation’s Top Safety Recruit Visits Tuscaloosa

Five-star safety Caleb Downs of Hoschton, GA officially visited the University of Alabama at about 5 p.m. central time on June 18. Downs is rated by 247 Sports as the No. 1 safety in the class of 2023 and the number 10 recruit overall in the nation.

Downs has more than 34 offers, but Alabama is just the third school he's visited in an official manner. His previous two visits were to Georgia and Notre Dame, but he has another with Ohio State scheduled for June 24.

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The official visit to Tuscaloosa follows an unofficial visit in April that Downs described to Touchdown Alabama as “very good.”

Scouts say that Downs has the speed to get across the field to stop a touchdown when a corner gets burned, has the footwork and athleticism to line up with slot receivers in man coverage, and the physicality to meet a ball carrier in the gap to put an end to a rushing play. In addition to his physical abilities, he has a high football IQ and actively enjoys the process of watching and studying film, traits that Nick Saban covets highly.

At the professional level, his play most closely resembles that of Justin Reid, a former Houston Texan who the perennially Super Bowl contending Kansas City Chiefs decided to sign to a three-year $31.5 million deal this offseason. That’s good company to be regarded with.

Safeties coach Charles Kelly and cornerbacks coach Travaris Robinson have overseen Downs’s recruitment.